Eli Harel was an Israeli soldier in his early thirties when he was sent into Lebanon in 2006 to battle fighters from the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in a bloody, largely inconclusive month-long war.
Now 50, Harel is ready to rejoin the army to fight the same group if shelling along Israel's northern border turns into a full-blown war with Iran's most powerful regional proxy.
This time Israeli forces would face some of the most challenging fighting conditions imaginable, he said.
"There are booby traps everywhere," he told Reuters. "People are popping up from tunnels. You have to be constantly on alert otherwise you will be dead."
Harel lives in Haifa, Israel's third biggest city, well within range of Hezbollah's weapons. Haifa's mayor recently urged residents to stockpile food and medicine because of the growing risk of all-out war.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in escalating daily cross-border strikes over the past six months - in parallel with the war in Gaza - and their increasing range and sophistication has spurred fears of a wider regional conflict.
Like Hamas, the militant Palestinian group battling Israel in Gaza, Hezbollah has a network of tunnels to move fighters and weapons around.
Its fighters have also been training for more than a decade with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.Hezbollah has so far restricted its attacks to a strip of northern Israel, seeking to draw Israeli forces away from Gaza.
Israel has said it is ready to push Hezbollah back from the border, but it is unclear how.
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@AbjectOwlSocialist2yrs2Y
Israel’s deliberate, industrial-scale murder of the Palestinian people under the pretext of “self-defence” won’t enhance its security or secure its future.
Rather, it will produce greater insecurity and instability, further isolate Israel and undermine its chances for long-term survival in a predominantly hostile region.
@QuorumPupRepublican2yrs2Y
" Israel’s deliberate, industrial-scale murder of the Palestinian people...". This is an untrue statement and should be treated as such.
The intentional murder, rape and kidnappings of civilians were those that were intentionally planned and committed by Hamas and their supporters.
Hezbollah is but one arm of the octopus destroying Middle East. The proper way to kill an octopus is to cut off its head: Iran.
@RightW1ngMaxRepublican2yrs2Y
I hope that Israel turns it into a War of Annihilation for Hezbollah. The world will be a much better place without Hezbollah.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
What thoughts come to mind when you consider soldiers having to navigate booby traps and tunnels in warfare?
@9LYXCRX2yrs2Y
I don't think that's the best idea because what if our own soldiers go into the tunnels and end up dead from there own teams actions.
@9LYXBBCIndependent2yrs2Y
The thought that soldiers could be severly injured and possibly not come home comes to mind when thinking of this.
Its time for two things to happen: for Israel to draw its borders and give up expansion goals, and for AIPAC to be declared a foreign lobby. And, for the US to refocus elsewhere.
Israel will then have to work with its neighbors instead of trying to bully them and forever play the victim role.
The US stands alone globally in unconditional support of Israel. It is accelerating our decline, and aiding China's rise. This has to stop.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
Considering the potential of an all-out war in your region, what steps would you find reasonable for your community and country to take in preparation?
@9LYT8H42yrs2Y
Make sure these is necessary resources such as shelter, food and water, and basic needs to survive.
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